So this is a maybe surprisingly classical direction given my usual culinary preoccupations. It's based on an Italian 17th-century recipe I came across when I was researching the essay I wrote for the book accompanying the show that Luc Tuymans curated on the baroque at the Prada Foundation a few years ago. If you know anything about Luc, the baroque or the Prada Foundation, you'll know that's actually why it simply tastes so good.
Shopping list
for the chicken and risotto stuffing
(All quantities are for 2 diners unless otherwise indicated)
1 poussin per diner (i.e. x 2). Alternatively, opt for a capon or chicken if feeding 3 or more diners more efficiently. But, hey, everyone loves their own little poussin, so you can just scale it up
I large echalion shallot
¼ of a tspn of finely ground cinnamon
About ⅔ of a cup of Arborio risotto rice
A handful of pitted green olives (and only green, not black), finely chopped
1 large fresh lemon
¼ of a cup of grilled mixed peppers, (ideally preserved in olive oil), chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves of garlic, crushed or, better still, 1 heaped tspn of smoked garlic purée
2 bay leaves
About ¼ of a cup of good quality Italian hard cheese; Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino or Grana Padano, dependent on preference
A glass of dry white wine
1 vegetable stock cube or jelly, diluted in 1 cup of boiling water
a little olive oil
for the dauphinoise potatoes
250ml double cream
200ml milk
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped or crushed
4 large potatoes; peeled and finely sliced
50g grated Gruyère (or other hard Swiss cheese)
for the additional accompaniments
Fresh green asparagus spears; approx. 125g per diner
Approx. 50 to 70g fresh, washed spinach per diner
2 or 3 firm spring onions per diner, finely sliced
A little best quality extra virgin olive oil
A little best quality balsamic vinegar
Cooking Method
Preparing the poussin
Mix the finely ground cinnamon, freshly ground salt and pepper and grated zest of half of the lemon together in a little bowl
Using clean fingers, massage the mix all over the skin and into the birds’ cavities. Cover with a clean tea towel and allow to rest while you progress other parts of the recipe
the risotto stuffing for the poussin
Heat a little olive oil in a small, deep pan. When it's hot, add the chopped shallot and crushed (smoked) garlic and stir constantly so that neither catches
Once sweated, add the Arborio rice, stirring constantly to ensure it seals thoroughly
Bit-by-bit, add the diluted vegetable stock and bay leaves, stirring constantly. Cook it much as you would a normal risotto, pacing dashes of white wine with dashes of hot stock, stirring constantly until the liquid reduces and the rice begins to become “fat”, succulent and soft
Only once the risotto is almost completely cooked, add the chopped green olives and chopped grilled peppers. Stir and turn off the heat. Finally add about half of the cheese and stir in, allowing it to melt purely from the "passive" heat of the dish
The dauphinoise potatoes
Before or simultaneous to cooking the risotto stuffing, place the double cream, garlic and milk in a deep saucepan and bring to the boil then reduce to simmer
Add the potato slices at this point and allow them to simmer for barely 3 to 4 mins, stirring gently, ensuring not to break the slices
Decant the potatoes with a slotted spoon, placing them in a shallow ovenproof dish so that they sit approx. 5cm deep
Pour over the garlic infused cream through a sieve in order to discard the large pieces of garlic. Ensure there is enough creamy liquid to seep through the layers yet leave a little liquid on the surface
Scatter over the grated cheese of preference and bake in a preheated oven (190C/170C fan/gas 5). You can time this to coincide with the poussin, or pre-cook it and keep warm until ready to serve
The perfect poussin
Grate the remaining zest of the lemon and leave in a little side dish. Squeeze the juice into a cup or other small dish, then cut the remaining “pulp” of the lemon; approximately half to ⅓ of a lemon per poussin. Push the already softened fruit deep into the bird’s cavity, really pressing it in with clean fingers
Next, using a small spoon and clean fingers, press in the risotto stuffing, ensuring it packs the cavity of the bird tightly. Pull its legs together and place upside down (i.e. breast-side lying in the bottom of the (ideally ceramic) oven dish
Baste with a little olive oil and cook without turning for at least 30mins (a little quicker if fan assisted/halogen) in an oven preheated to approx. 200C
When the bird/s show signs of cooking well, turn them over in the dish. Massage in more of the spice mixture, sprinkle with the remaining lemon zest and drizzle with the remaining lemon juice. Roast for a further 20 to 30 mins, depending on how well the cooking is going. Regularly take the bird/s out of the oven and use the moisture from the stuffing that will ooze from the cavity to baste the bird with a pastry brush. You really want to keep the majority of the poussin moist, even if it might be a tasty jape to let the little legs become quite crispy
When you judge the bird/s to be approx. 10 mins before being ready, sprinkle over the remainder of the hard cheese (and any remnants of the lemon zest). Don’t worry if it actually appears to “burn”: its deep flavours mingling with the lemon is exactly what you want
The final sprint
While the bird/s is cooking to perfection, make the simple spinach and chopped spring onion salad either on individual salad plates or in a suitable communal bowl for serving oneself at table
Similarly, steam the trimmed green asparagus spears, whether using a more traditional stove-top steamer or my preferred Japanese microwave version. Either way, al dente, but never undercooked. This is a dish that is all about moistness. Dress with a smidgen of extra virgin olive oil—okay, or butter, given the decadence of the dauphinoise—but ensure that it is succulent and moist
Plate the poussin, gently opening the bird/s slightly to allow the stuffing to “breathe”. Plate the potatoes and asparagus and take to the table with the simple salad
Pairings
I actually haven’t got around to this yet. I really enjoyed it with a common-or-garden picpoul de pinet, but I’m sure Karel can share greater wisdom.
Alternatives
Sorry, it’s a little chicken. Not really much more I can say. Yes, if you keep the risotto, asparagus and dauphinoise potatoes and throw away the poussin, it’s a pretty cool veggie dish, but that’s about it. Sadly this dish is all about little chickens.
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